After leaving school, Jed felt like his options were limited as he didn’t do well in his GCSEs. He wanted to study Public Services, but he didn’t have the grades to be accepted onto the course.

He came to an Open Event at Eastleigh College and spoke to the lecturers, who suggested he enrol on a Gateway to Work course. This is a multi-skilled programme designed to support the progression for those who didn’t achieve their full potential at school.

Once he had completed the Gateway to Work course, Jed was able to apply for the Level 2 Public Services course. Jed felt like the Gateway course had really helped to progress him as a person – it taught him discipline, organisation, and most importantly taught him things about himself.

Once Jed had progressed onto Level 3 Public Services, he felt he had really found his niche. He had gone from having poor GCSE results to achieving the highest grades in each assignment, earning him a fantastic result of a triple distinction at the end of his course. He also won ‘Most Improved Student’ twice; once during his Level 2 studies and again in his final year.

Jed decided that he wanted to go onto Higher Education to study something psychology-based, as this is something which has always interested him. Combining this with the criminal aspects, Criminology seemed like the best option for Jed, especially as he plans to work in the police force in the future.

Since discovering his niche, Jed is considering continuing his education further with a postgraduate qualification in Psychology or Criminology, before joining the police force as a PCSO or a special constable. He would then like to transfer to the Drug Unit, Armed Response, or the Dog Support Unit. These are options that Jed discovered while studying at Eastleigh College: as part of his Public Services course, talks were given by members of the forces which helped explain the different career routes available.

Before I just thought I’d like to be a Police Officer – but after studying the Public Services course, I know a lot more about the range of opportunities available and I know exactly what I want to do.

Jed

Jed is amazed to have come so far from first starting at Eastleigh College, to going to study at University. He enjoyed working in a pressured environment, but believes that the structure of his course was beneficial to studying A levels. He commented, “Vocational courses enable you to see exactly what you’re working towards at each stage of the course. Every assignment is graded, which means you’re able to keep on track compare to waiting for one grade from an end-of-year exam.”

“My lecturers pushed me really hard and encouraged me to do the best I could”.

Jed felt like his opportunities were limited when he left school, but studying the Gateway to Work course gave him a second chance and opened up his options. He believes Eastleigh College has definitely helped him achieve his goals and get him to the stage he is at now.

To find out more about our Public Services courses, please visit the career page.